Houston's passing attack proves too much for North Texas as Mean Green lose again

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HOUSTON — North Texas faced a couple of high-powered, conventional offenses
earlier this season in losses to LSU and Kansas State.

The challenge Houston presented on Saturday night at Robertson Stadium was
something different entirely.

The Cougars and quarterback David Piland came out firing in their no-huddle
spread attack and didn’t stop until they had run away for a 44-21 win over UNT,
which came into the night looking for a milestone win in the second season of
the Dan McCarney era.

UNT (2-4) had a chance to pick up its first win since 2006 over a Texas
school that competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision, not to mention end a
string of 19 consecutive losses following a win.

The Mean Green never had a shot at either landmark on a night the Cougars
(2-3) put up video game-like numbers in just UNT’s eighth game against another
Texas school since 2006.

Piland, a Southlake Carroll product, torched UNT’s secondary for 321 passing
yards to lead Houston, which finished with a whopping 623 yards and scored more
points against UNT this season than anyone else.

“It looked like we were playing in sand and they were playing on grass,”
McCarney said. “Our fundamentals were poor. There are lots and lots of things we
need to get fixed.”

UNT came into the night on a bit of a roll defensively after a win over
Florida Atlantic, the second straight opponent the Mean Green had held to 14
points.

Houston had 14 points by the halfway point of the first quarter and jumped
out to a 17-0 edge after scoring on its first three possessions.

Those were the types of mistakes UNT couldn’t afford to make, especially with
the way the Mean Green has struggled to score.

UNT came into the night averaging just 19.2 points a game. For a while, it
appeared as if the Mean Green might break out and get back into the game after
cutting its deficit to 31-21 in the third quarter on a 7-yard Derek Thompson
touchdown run.

Thompson led UNT with 252 passing yards, while Brandin Byrd rushed for
96.

UNT’s problem was that every time it scored, Houston had an answer. The
Cougars followed every UNT score with one of its own and put the Mean Green away
with Piland’s 5-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter that gave Houston a
41-21 lead on a night its offense controlled the game.

“That’s their offense, the short passing game,” UNT cornerback Zac Whitfield
said. “The way they played helped build their confidence.”

It also helped prevent UNT from reaching a series of milestones in a rare
game for the Mean Green against an in-state rival.